Can opener having removable cutter assembly

ABSTRACT

A can opener is provided on its lever arm with an arcuate keyhole-shaped slot and the housing has a headed pin passing through the slot, the head keeping the lever arm against the housing until the opening and wide part of the keyhole align when the arm is raised in non-use, whereupon the arm can be removed.

United States Patent Hahn [ 1 Sept. 12, 1972 [54] CAN OPENER HAVING REMOVABLE CUTTER ASSEMBLY [72] Inventor: James H. Hahn, Fort Lauderdale,

Fla.

[73] Assignee: Scovill Manufacturing Company,

Waterbury, Conn.

[22] Filed: v Sept. 16,1970 [21] Appl.No.: 72,620

52 us. c1. .'...30/4 R 511 1111. c1. ..B67b 7/38 158 Field of Search .3014 R, 4 A, 9, 330, 331;

[56] References .Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Briar ..30/4 R x 3,066,409 l2/ 1 962 Smith ..30/4 R Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant ExaminerGary L. Smith Attorney-Daillett Hoopes [57] ABSTRACT A can opener is provided on its lever arm with an arcuate keyhole-shaped slot and the housing has a headed pin passing through the slot, the head keeping the lever arm against the housing until the opening and wide part of the keyhole align when the arm is raised in non-use, whereupon the arm can be removed.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PKTENTED 12 I973 3,689,998

INVENTOR. James H. Hahn ATTORNEY.

CAN OPENER HAVING REMOVABLE CUTTER ASSEMBLY This invention relates to can openers. More specifically, this invention relates to a can opener in which an arm carrying a cutter wheel is pivoted to a housing and means are provided for removing the arm for washing.

In the prior art, there are shown can openers, usually electric, in which an arm pivoted to the can opener housing and carrying the cutter wheel is removable from the housing for cleaning. Usually, this has involved a rather elaborate structure including a push button adapted to disengage the pivot pin from the housing. Prior structures have been elaborate and costly to produce and have proved to be unreliable after a period of use.

Under the present invention there is presented an extremely simple means for holding and disengaging the lever arm from the can opener housing. This means requires no new moving parts and is, therefore, extremely inexpensive and reliable.

Other features and objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the specification and a review of the drawings all of which disclose a non-limiting example embodying the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a frontelevation of a can opener embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is, a view of an upper portion of a can opener embodying the invention having its lever arm raised as in position for release of the arm, and showing the magnet extension broken away, and;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, a can opener embodying the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and generally designated 10. It comprises a support housing 12 which houses the can opener motor and carries a driven serrated wheel 14 adapted to drive the can being opened.

A lever arm 16 is provided with a conventional guide pin 18 which is secured to the lever arm and extends therethrough in a horizontal direction into its customary journaling boss (not shown) in the opener housing. The pin thus forms a pivot for the lever arm 16. The arm 16 may be considered as having a short end, that is, its portion to the left of an imaginary vertical line in FIG. 1 drawn through the pin 18, and a long end, that is, the portion of the arm to the right of such a line. A cutter wheel 20 is journaled for rotation on an angled shaft mounted on the lever arm. A conventional leaf spring 22 helps guide the can while an extension 24 extends outward over the can and suspends from its distal end a conventional magnet 26.

shown is the arcuate keyhole-shaped slot 28 which includes the arcuate portion 28a and the enlarged opening 28b all on an arc out from the pin 18. Mounted in a plastic boss 30 in the housing 12 is a horizontally disposed headed stud 32 having the neck 34 and the enlarged head 36.

The relationship between the parts of the slot 28 and the stud 32 are such that the slot may engage in the neck portion 34 but may not permit passage of the head 36. The opening 28b, on the other hand, is larger and aligns with the head 36 when the lever is up (FIG. 2) so that upon such alignment the entlre lever arm 16 may be withdrawn forwardly and removed from the can opener housing 12.

After the cutter wheel 20 and other parts of the arm have been washed, the rearward projection of the pin 18 may be returned to its boss and the arm returned to the position shown in FIG. 2 with the opening 281; receiving the head 36 and aligned with the neck 34. The lever arm may then be dropped to its conventional position (FIG. 1).

The invention may be described in the following claim language:

I claim:

1. A can opener comprising:

a. a support structure;

b. a driven serrated wheel on the support structure for rotatably supporting a can;

c. a lever arm having a long end and a short end and pivotally mounted intermediate the ends on the structure by a horizontal pivot pin;

d. a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on the lever arm and adapted, when the lever is held down, to sever the lid from a can as the can is rotated thereunder by the serrated wheel;

. the lever being formed with an arcuate keyholeshaped slot on an arc swung from the pivot pin, the slot being disposed above the pivot pin on the short end of the lever arm, the enlarged portion of the keyhole-shaped slot being oriented toward the longer end of the lever arm, the slot being spaced inward from the margins of the lever, and

f. a horizontally disposed headed stud mounted on the support structure and normally extending into the slot past the head, the slot being narrower than the head and the enlarged portion being larger than the head whereby the head normally holds the arm adjacent the structure but if the arm is raised in a non-cutting position, the head aligns with the enlarged portion so that the arm may be removed forwardly for cleaning.

2. A can opener as described in claim 1 wherein the pivot pin is on the back of the lever arm and is received into a bored boss in the support structure. 

1. A can opener comprising: a. a support structure; b. a driven serrated wheel on the support structure for rotatably supporting a can; c. a lever arm having a long end and a short end and pivotally mounted intermediate the ends on the structure by a horizontal pivot pin; d. a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on the lever arm and adapted, when the lever is held down, to sever the lid from a can as the can is rotated thereunder by the serrated wheel; e. the lever being formed with an arcuate keyhole-shaped slot on an arc swung from the pivot pin, the slot being disposed above the pivot pin on the short end of the lever arm, the enlarged portion of the keyhole-shaped slot being oriented toward the longer end of the lever arm, the slot being spaced inward from the margins of the lever, and f. a horizontally disposed headed stud mounted on the support structure and normally extending into the slot past the head, the slot being narrower than the head and the enlarged portion being larger than the head whereby the head normally holds the arm adjacent the structure but if the arm is raised in a noncutting position, the head aligns with the enlarged portion so that the arm may be removed forwardly for cleaning.
 2. A can opener as described in claim 1 wherein the pivot pin is on the back of the lever arm and is received into a bored boss in the support structure. 